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“At the moment, the priority is to limit the outbreak rather than find the source.”
Quebec says it is administering the Imvamune smallpox vaccine to “high-risk contacts” of confirmed or probable cases of smallpox. Photo of DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
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Fifteen people with links to cases of smallpox have received the smallpox vaccine and about 10 more were reserved to receive the vaccine on Tuesday, according to the Montreal Department of Public Health.
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Quebec says it is administering the Imvamune smallpox vaccine to “high-risk contacts” of confirmed or probable cases of monkeypox, a rare viral disease first detected in the province two weeks ago.
Because monkeypox is closely related to the virus that causes smallpox, the administration of a smallpox vaccine can prevent people from contracting the disease or making it less serious, according to officials.
Because the vaccination campaign is targeted and based on contact tracking, it is impossible to say how many people could be vaccinated, said Marianne Paquette, a spokeswoman for public health in Montreal.
A single dose of the vaccine can be given within four days of exposure. A second dose can only be followed if the risk of exposure is still present 28 days later.
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Officials have said several cases in Montreal were related to a traveler coming from Boston.
Paquette said the public health department has no further information on the possible source of the Montreal outbreak. “For now, the priority is to limit the outbreak rather than find the source,” he said.
As of last Thursday, Quebec had 25 confirmed cases of smallpox, with another 30 possible cases under investigation.
A spokesman for the Quebec Department of Health said the province will provide an update on the number of cases on Tuesday, but did not.
Federal health officials say only one other province has confirmed the presence of smallpox in Ontario: Ontario, which has reported only one case.
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Smallpox from the monkey spreads through close, prolonged contact, Quebec says on its monkeypox website. The disease can be transmitted five days before the onset of symptoms and until all skin lesions have been covered with bark.
The incubation period, the time between exposure to an infectious pathogen and the onset of symptoms, is usually five to seven days, but can last up to 21 days.
The disease can be transmitted five days before the onset of symptoms and until all skin lesions have been covered with bark.
In most cases, the disease goes away on its own in two to four weeks, but in “very rare cases … serious complications can occur,” says Quebec.
The Montreal Department of Public Health offers advice for people who have had close contact with a suspicious case, a confirmed case, or if they develop symptoms:
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- If you have been in close contact (sexually or living under the same roof) with a suspicious case or with symptomatic people, watch your symptoms for 21 days.
- Limit close contact, including sexual intercourse, during the control period.
- If you develop symptoms of smallpox, get evaluated by a healthcare professional, wear a mask, and cover the lesions. Before consulting, it is preferable to report the situation to the clinic.
- People suspected of having the disease should isolate themselves at home, wear a mask, cover injuries in contact with other people and do hand hygiene.
Smallpox was first discovered in 1958 when two outbreaks of smallpox-like disease occurred in monkey colonies preserved for research, hence the name.
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The first human case of smallpox was reported in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since 1970, “most cases have been reported in rural rainforests in the Congo Basin, especially in the DRC, and more and more human cases have been reported in Central and West Africa.” , says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Since mid-May, cases have been reported in several countries where the disease is not normally found.
On Monday, the WHO said it did not believe the smallpox outbreak outside Africa would lead to a pandemic. The health agency is considering whether the increase in cases should be assessed as a “potential public health emergency of international concern,” as was done for COVID-19 and Ebola, the report said. Reuters news agency.
ariga@postmedia.com
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